15/10/2022 1 Minute Read

Chinese Taipei pitcher Lai handles Germany in shut out win

Hosts Chinese Taipei's five hits in the game proved more than enough to beat Germany and tie World No. 1 Japan at the top of Group A. The Asian powerhouses will face each other on Sunday.

Yan-Fong Lai prevailed in the pitcher-dominated game to lead World No. 2 Chinese Taipei to a 3-0 win over Germany at the IV WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup to strengthen their position in the standings in Group A.

Starting pitcher Lai, who at 19 is the youngest player on the team, impressed over 3.1 innings, striking out seven and allowing one hit and two walks in the game against the visiting side on Saturday.

The hosts started the game aggressively, as Sheng-Ping Chen singled to centre field in the bottom of the first and drove in I-Wei Li for the first run.

Germany played solid baseball, as they stopped a potential rally in the second inning thanks to a well-executed double play.

Chen-Tso Tseng scored the second Chinese Taipei run in the third on Kuo-Chin Yen’s ground-out. And later in the sixth, he doubled to deep left field until Ching-Ran Ji singled through the left side to send him the home plate.

Germany sent five pitchers to the mound, with starter Titus Von Kapff and three others lasting only one inning, and reliever Florian Seidel pitched in two innings.

Chinese Taipei and Japan are undefeated so far, but that will change on Sunday as the top two-ranked teams will face off at 19.00 local time in Taichung. Meanwhile, Germany and South Africa will seek for their first win at 14.30.